Stephen McCranie

After an extended flashback, the story returns to the current cast and the fallout of the explosive homecoming dance.

I liked this volume in the same way I find all the books in this series to be enjoyable YA sci-fi fluff. But I'm still going to whine about it.

The way Stephen McCrainie deals with character names is so stupid it throws me out of the story. Sure, people don't use their first and last names in casual conversation, but this time he repeatedly has newscasters and their televised show more graphics referring to characters involved in a major breaking news story as "Amy" and "Parents of Amy" and a public figure as "Chief Delaney." It reminds me of an earlier volume where a sports announcer kept referring to the quarterback as "David" during a game, when they just don't do that. I don't know what McCrainie has against last names, but why take the avoidance of them to such a ridiculous degree, especially when many characters in the book have first and last names?

The cover is highly misleading, being derived from a couple pages where Qiana Jacobs is playing a virtual reality video game. There are no space tiger/scorpions hybrids in this series, though an alien presence is getting more and more screen time.

The Foot Code: Amy and the alien are the only characters on pointe this time, and suspiciously their storylines are now intertwining. However, Amy's feet fall flat once she changes out of her homecoming dress and into a uniform provided to her. Are the pointed feet being phased out? Hmm. Must continue research. show less

I'm really digging this series so far, but I could do without the animal exploitation vis-à-vis the school's agricultural club. Like, if you're going to show off the cute baby chicks you ordered via USPS (or future equivalent), maybe also include a panel of the unboxing, where most of the babies arrive dead, mkay. Or, better yet, let's just skip to the lab-grown meat.

Nothing new to report here: low-key engaging with a heavy emphasis on teen angst and a slow trickle of new information.

Oh, wait, one curious thing: As noted in a previous review of mine, all male characters have flat feet, and all female characters are depicted en pointe (enlarge the cover thumbnail to see an example) . . . except the art teacher with flat feet who otherwise presents as female. Does this denote transgender in the Space Boy universe?

I love the exploration of conspiracy theories and how people fall prey to them - we want someone to be able to answer our questions. But every theory isn’t completely off based either.

Then, the portrayal of everyone’s grief (Zeph’s especially) and Oliver’s disassociation with his humanity and the life he lived on earth was great. This is mature writing without relying on shock value.

-1 star for calling a Black woman a man in any sense of the form. “You’re more of a man that show more I’ll ever be…” NO, not even as a compliment. show less